Lloyd Alexander (1924–2007)
Author of The Book of Three
About the Author
Lloyd Alexander, January 30, 1924 - May 17, 2007 Born Lloyd Chudley Alexander on January 30, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Allan Audley and Edna Chudley Alexander, Lloyd knew from a young age that he wanted to write. He was reading by the time he was 3, and though he did poorly in school, show more at the age of fifteen, he announced that he wanted to become a writer. At the age of 19 in 1942, Alexander dropped out of the West Chester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania after only one term. In 1943, he attended Lafayette College in Easton, PA, before dropping out again and joining the United States Army during World War II. Alexander served in the Intelligence Department, stationed in Wales, and then went on to Counter-Intelligence in Paris, where he was promoted to Staff Sergeant. When the war ended in '45, Alexander applied to the Sorbonne, but returned to the States in '46, now married. Alexander worked as an unpublished writer for seven years, accepting positions such as cartoonist, advertising copywriter, layout artist, and associate editor for a small magazine. Directly after the war, he had translated works for such artists as Jean Paul Sartre. In 1955, "And Let the Credit Go" was published, Alexander's first book which led to 10 years of writing for an adult audience. He wrote his first children's book in 1963, entitled "Time Cat," which led to a long career of writing for children and young adults. Alexander is best known for his "Prydain Chronicles" which consist of "The Book of Three" in 1964, "The Black Cauldron" in 1965 which was a Newbery Honor Book, as well as an animated motion picture by Disney which appeared in 1985, "The Castle of Llyr" in 1966, "Taran Wanderer" in 1967, a School Library Journal's Best Book of the Year and "The High King" which won the Newberry Award. Many of his other books have also received awards, such as "The Fortune Tellers," which was a Boston Globe Horn Book Award winner. In 1986, Alexander won the Regina Medal for Lifetime Achievement from the Catholic Library Association. His titles have been translated into many languages including, Dutch, Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Serbo-Croation and Swedish. He died on May 17, 2007. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Lloyd Alexander
Max Mondrosch 2 copies
Taran og borgen på øen 1 copy
Kong Taran 1 copy
Lad a Dog 1 copy
Crónicas de Prydain 1 copy
Księga trzech 1 copy
Newbery Award Acceptance 1 copy
Castle Llyr, The 1 copy
Three Complete Novels 1 copy
The Sacred City of Cats 1 copy
PEACE 1 copy
Associated Works
The Wall: (Intimacy) and Other Stories (1939) — Translator, some editions; Translator, some editions — 3,034 copies, 32 reviews
Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction (2003) — Contributor — 851 copies, 24 reviews
The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy (2006) — Contributor — 255 copies, 9 reviews
The Outspoken Princess and The Gentle Knight: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales (1994) — Contributor — 207 copies, 3 reviews
The Prydain Companion: A Reference Guide to Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles (1989) — Foreword — 143 copies, 4 reviews
A Newbery Zoo: A dozen animal stories by Newbery Award-winning authors (1995) — Contributor — 39 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Alexander, Lloyd Chudley
- Birthdate
- 1924-01-30
- Date of death
- 2007-05-17
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Upper Darby High School (graduated 1940)
University of Paris
Haverford College - Occupations
- author
soldier - Organizations
- United States Army (WWII)
- Awards and honors
- Upper Darby High School Wall of Fame
Regina Medal (1986) - Relationships
- Denni, Janine (wife)
Khalil, Madeleine (daughter)
November, Sharyn (goddaughter) - Short biography
- [from The Wizard in the Tree]
Lloyd Alexander received the Newbery medal for The High King, the fifth and final book of his distinguished fantasy series about the kingdom of Prydain. His The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian, which won the 1971 National Book Award for Children's Books, was described in The Horn Book as "a comic fantasy, successfully combining eighteenth-century briskness with romantic 'moonshine'. It can be read as an exciting series of adventures, of which many of the chapters end with a suspense line. Or it can be read as an allegory on the ambivalent power of beauty. Or -- best of all -- it can be read as the story of Sebastian's apprenticeship to life".
Mr. Alexander's The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man was an ALA Notable Children's Book of 1973. Said School Library Journal, "Lionel, a wizard's cat, persuades his master to turn him into a man. . . . Infused with humor, high spirits, and compassion, Lionel's story is a parable of the human condition that recognizes mankind's many frailties without despariing and offers hope that love and justice may sometimes prevail". - Cause of death
- cancer
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Place of death
- Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA
- Burial location
- Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania (USA Plot: Monticello Mausoleum, B4-Back Wall)
- Associated Place (for map)
- Pennsylvania, USA
Members
Discussions
Found: Prince (?) flees after usurpation, joins rival army in Name that Book (December 2025)
Found: Book like Lloyd Alexander in Name that Book (April 2025)
***Group Read: The Chronicles of Prydain (Spoiler) in 75 Books Challenge for 2010 (May 2010)
***Group Read: The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander in 75 Books Challenge for 2010 (May 2010)
Group Read: The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander in 75 Books Challenge for 2009 (December 2009)
Reviews
Even though this is a typical classic fantasy book, it gave me a comforting and sort of nostalgic feeling. I haven’t read this book before and I only watched “The Black Cauldron” once as a kid and forgot all about it. Even so, it has a lot of elements I loved in fantasy as a child and that made the story feel familiar. This book also has elements that immediately reminded me of The Lord of the Rings (like Gurgi being similar to Gollum). The book also has some elements of welsh show more mythology, but I don’t know much about that.
The book starts with the main character Taran wishing to be more than a Pig-Keeper and his adventure starts when the oracular pig Hen Wen runs away so Taran has to go after her. On his search for Hen Wen, Taran meets a lot of colourful characters and not all of them are friends. The evil Horned King and his Cauldron-Born are also looking for Hen Wen due to her powers.
The pacing is great. Each chapter has something happening, but it didn’t feel exhaustively action packed. It also didn’t take too much time in the slower character moments that kids would be bored. I also really like that the book is so short because I do have a preference for short books, especially middle grade ones because I am not the target audience and I only seek them for a fun, light and quick read.
The writing style is immersive and there are some really good quotes. I like the overall messages that are realistic without being grim. As always, I also really like the power of names plot that often appears in fantasy stories.
I really liked that both Taran and Eilonwy felt like real kids. They have no experience adventuring and need the help of others. Taran is ignorant about many things and dreams of adventure only to find out it’s not as ideal as he initially thought. Eilonwy is direct in a way that can come off as rude and she talks a lot. I especially liked Taran’s character growth in the way he started to be kinder and longing for home.
I like that this book reinforces that great deeds cannot be done alone because if there is one discussion I am tired of is the “who is the real hero in Lord of the Rings?”. Why is it so hard for people to accept we need others and impactful change isn’t possible to be done by just one individual?
“Does it trully matter which one did what, since all shared the same goal and the same danger? Nothing we do is done entirely alone. There is a part of us in everyone else.”
Overall, this is not the most original story by today’s standards, but it’s short and full of heart and well worth someone’s time if they enjoy the morals and tropes of classic fantasy. show less
The book starts with the main character Taran wishing to be more than a Pig-Keeper and his adventure starts when the oracular pig Hen Wen runs away so Taran has to go after her. On his search for Hen Wen, Taran meets a lot of colourful characters and not all of them are friends. The evil Horned King and his Cauldron-Born are also looking for Hen Wen due to her powers.
The pacing is great. Each chapter has something happening, but it didn’t feel exhaustively action packed. It also didn’t take too much time in the slower character moments that kids would be bored. I also really like that the book is so short because I do have a preference for short books, especially middle grade ones because I am not the target audience and I only seek them for a fun, light and quick read.
The writing style is immersive and there are some really good quotes. I like the overall messages that are realistic without being grim. As always, I also really like the power of names plot that often appears in fantasy stories.
I really liked that both Taran and Eilonwy felt like real kids. They have no experience adventuring and need the help of others. Taran is ignorant about many things and dreams of adventure only to find out it’s not as ideal as he initially thought. Eilonwy is direct in a way that can come off as rude and she talks a lot. I especially liked Taran’s character growth in the way he started to be kinder and longing for home.
I like that this book reinforces that great deeds cannot be done alone because if there is one discussion I am tired of is the “who is the real hero in Lord of the Rings?”. Why is it so hard for people to accept we need others and impactful change isn’t possible to be done by just one individual?
“Does it trully matter which one did what, since all shared the same goal and the same danger? Nothing we do is done entirely alone. There is a part of us in everyone else.”
Overall, this is not the most original story by today’s standards, but it’s short and full of heart and well worth someone’s time if they enjoy the morals and tropes of classic fantasy. show less
The most unusual book in the Prydain series, "Taran Wanderer" discards the epic quests that drive all four other books here. The external enemies Taran faces in his wanderings are dangerous enough on a personal level, but they're almost beside the point. More importantly they're obstacles to force Taran to grow and mature as he sets off on his own to discover who he truly is. As a child this was my least favorite book, all introspective musings and only sporadic action. I appreciate it more show more as an adult, both for its own merits and as a vital piece of character development to set Taran up for the series' triumphant conclusion. show less
The final volume of the Westmark Trilogy finds the country in the throws of revolution.
Why, why, why did it take me so long to read these books? They were excellent. I enjoyed all three, but this one was far and away my favourite. I have a longstanding interest in the French Revolution, and it seems clear to me that Alexander drew on it for this story. He does so to great effect. The book is tense and exciting while still conveying the emotional struggles these characters endure. The plot show more moves forwards in short bursts that seem a little brief in retrospect but which worked very well as I was reading. I was hard pressed to put the book down, so eager was I to see how Alexander would bring the situation to a close.
And I must say, he does so very well. I found it very satisfying on all levels. It's one of those wonderful conclusions that's not so much an ending as a beginning. We know that there's more in store for all these characters and their beloved country, but it's up to the reader to imagine where they'll go from here.
I highly recommend all three books. I suppose they could be read as stand-alones, but I'd urge you to start with Westmark and work your way through for best effect. show less
Why, why, why did it take me so long to read these books? They were excellent. I enjoyed all three, but this one was far and away my favourite. I have a longstanding interest in the French Revolution, and it seems clear to me that Alexander drew on it for this story. He does so to great effect. The book is tense and exciting while still conveying the emotional struggles these characters endure. The plot show more moves forwards in short bursts that seem a little brief in retrospect but which worked very well as I was reading. I was hard pressed to put the book down, so eager was I to see how Alexander would bring the situation to a close.
And I must say, he does so very well. I found it very satisfying on all levels. It's one of those wonderful conclusions that's not so much an ending as a beginning. We know that there's more in store for all these characters and their beloved country, but it's up to the reader to imagine where they'll go from here.
I highly recommend all three books. I suppose they could be read as stand-alones, but I'd urge you to start with Westmark and work your way through for best effect. show less
I remember this as always being my favourite of the Prydain books, the absence of Elionwy nothwithstanding. I now recognise the way in which it is one of the few fantasy novels to so consciously and carefully follow the patterns of certain types of heroic fairy tales, the young man on a quest of discovery and the various encounters on his journey that teach him the lessons or equip him with the magic or equipment or companions he needs to win, but presented as a modern piece of literature show more with fully realised settings and characters. It's a brilliant tale of growth and learning and the long and arduous acquisition of a tiny piece of wisdom that you knew all along, you just didn't know it. Heartbreaking and lovely, but also delightful and clever and warm, I can see why it appealed to me, a fantasy novel directly focused on growth and maturity, the sadness of leaving childhood and entering the grey complexities of adulthood echoed the bittersweet tones of The Lord Of Rings. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 95
- Also by
- 36
- Members
- 55,648
- Popularity
- #265
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 772
- ISBNs
- 732
- Languages
- 19
- Favorited
- 158
